Every word of Michael Carrick and Bryan Mbeumo’s Sabah pre-match press conference | OneFootball

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Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick and Bryan Mbeumo have been speaking to the media in the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s trip to face Everton in the Premier League.

Here is every word of the press conference. As this is a Champions League presser, there will not be an embargoed section.

Champions League excitement

The first reporter asked Carrick: “Good afternoon, Michael. First game back in the Champions League after a few years away. How are you going to approach tomorrow night, but also with the Manchester derby in a few days’ time?”

Carrick replied: “We worked hard to be here. It’s great to be here. We’re massively looking forward to the game, the campaign, and try to make it as long as we possibly can make it. So big challenges ahead and some really fantastic games to start.”

“Yeah, massively looking forward to [tomorrow’s game]”.

The next question was for Mbeumo: “Bryan, can I just ask you, in terms of your journey, your career, how How much does it mean to you, to be at this stage, to play in the Champions League tomorrow night, hopefully?”

Mbeumo answered: “Obviously it means a big step for me, um, coming from Ligue 2 in France to such a big club here. Playing in the Champions League is a massive reward for me and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Luke Shaw injury concerns

The next question from The Sun’s Samuel Luckhurst was “at training Luke Shaw wasn’t there. There’s been a lot of debate around how many games he might have to play. Is he going to be in contention for tomorrow? How does it work in terms of him preparing for games?”

Carrick replied: “We just give him an extra recovery day today, Luke. So we’ll see by tomorrow, how he is, but it’s not an ongoing thing or a plan or anything like that. It’s just off the back of the game the other day. So, as normal, each individual has kind of different little things that we manage, and Luke got one of them today.”

Mbeumo was then asked whether Champions League qualification vindicated his decision to join United rather than a more successful club.

“Yeah, in my head I saw a bit like the team and the players, and I knew I would have good connections with the guys here,” the Cameroonian said. “And also I received some message from the players before I come and I was really like convinced that we could achieve something good.”

More on the Champions League

The next question was to Carrick – “what does playing top-flight European football mean to you and what should it mean to Manchester United?”

The head coach answered: “It means an awful lot, it’s challenging yourself against the elite, the very best, and I’ve said it before, I think it’s over a long, long period of time. This football club’s been used to challenging with the best and being the best, and it’s not something that you can take for granted, what it takes to be there and what it takes to stay there. And we’ve missed out on it for a number of years, and now we’re back. So I think it means a lot.”

“It’s where we want to be every single year. It’s where we should expect to be without being ahead of ourselves. It’s what we have to push for. It’s the standards that we want to set. And it’s up to us to be able to do that. I think we’ve made huge steps over the last few months or a year or so to make it in and finish the league really strong, to be in this position. And now it’s about what’s next and pushing into the next chapter, if you like, the next phase, the next evolution of the team and the squad. And this is certainly where we want to be, and it’s up to us now to make sure we stay.”

Mbeumo was then asked “do you share the excitement of the fans when the draw’s made? Are you looking at the opponents thinking, I want to play in that stadium, I want to play against that club?”

The forward answered “Yeah, I think it’s the first time I watch a draw from the Champions League, but yeah, obviously really excited to play any kind of games. And yeah, every country, every team are different, and it’s always good to go there and see.”

On tomorrow’s opponents

“Michael, Sabah are making their Champions League debut,” a reporter noted. “When analysing the team, what aspects of their game stood out to you most?”

Carrick replied: “Yeah, first of all, I think they’re a very well-coached team. You can see that quite clearly, their ideas, the principles that they have that are repeatable, and they have some really good things. I think they’ve obviously won a lot of football matches over the last 12 months or so, and so playing with a lot of confidence, and you can see the way they play and take the ball and play through the pitch and have some really good connections and press well as a team. So we obviously are fully aware of what we’re up against and the challenge that we face.”

Bruno Fernandes’ Ballon d’Or nomination

The next question was “During Bruno’s time at this club, he’s played in one Champions League knockout tie in coming on for seven years now. Obviously nominated for the Ballon d’Or yesterday and in talks over a potential new contract. How important is that this Champions League journey goes deep and shows players, your best players like Bruno, that you’re not just here for the league phase, that you can achieve what those players want to achieve and players like Bruno want to achieve?”

The Boss replied: “Oh, we certainly can achieve it. We’re capable of achieving it. It’s up to us, we can take a step with doing that. I think you saying that as well shows the steps that we’re trying to make from previous years of not being in the later stages of the competition, you know. So I think we’ve got to be humble enough and realistic enough to know where we’re coming from and where we want to get to. Like you say, Bruno’s only played in that one, so it’s part of us to keep pushing the standards and to be the best we can possibly be. We want to be there as quickly as possible, as everybody does.”

“But again, it’s understanding the steps that need to be put in place to be able to do that. And we’re capable of some really, really good things, and especially on our day, we feel that we can go up against anybody and come out on top. And it’s up to us to bring that over a consistent period of consistency through games. In the end, that gets you the results. Hopefully puts us in them stages that you talked about.”

The next reporter then asked: “Since you played in the final in 2011, the club have only reached the Champions League quarter-finals on two occasions. Do you think that also emphasises how important it is to be in it on a season, season after season basis?”

He replied: “Yeah, well, like I said, I think to be humble enough to understand what recent history we’ve had, and it doesn’t take away the drive and the desire and the expectation from all of us to want to be really successful, but I still think to be realistic, to understand that, and there’s a real balanced view of that, but all I can say is it’s what’s ahead of us that matters, whether that was kind of coming into this in really good shape, in not so good shape from recent history, from years gone by. It’s about what we do next.”

“And we’ve got a team and we’ve got a squad that’s really massively looking forward to this phase, and we need to learn, we need to keep improving. And we need to make the most of these opportunities.”

Selection policy for Champions League games

Carrick was then asked “what kind of approach will you take to selections in this competition? Obviously you’ve played in it, you know what it takes to win it, and also as a coach, you made— and manager here— you made a big bold decision in Villarreal, for example, in the first match. What kind of approach will you take to selections in this competition?”

“Yeah, well, it’s always a balanced view,” he responded. “I think that’s why we’ve got the squad and we’re pushing to have as strong a squad as possible to be able to adapt to certain games and certain strengths and different ways of playing, different circumstances.”

“We play Thursday, we play Sunday, we play Wednesday. It’s what we’re here for. So it’s about managing the group, of course it is, and having a trust in everyone who’s able to play and will play.”

He was then asked “what’s the target for this competition, the expectation? How far are you hoping to get? What do you believe you can do in it?”

“I don’t think it’s a kind of going, if we get to a certain stage, that’s a success, and if we don’t, it’s not,” the manager replied. “I think we’ve got to embrace the new challenge that we’ll be facing as a group and push to what we can push to. I think we’re capable of doing some really good things in this competition and going further down the line in this competition. And then who knows when it gets to that stage.”

“I’m not writing anything off, but again, taking it step by step and certainly not getting ahead of ourselves, because sometimes some part of it’s a new experience for some of the players and as a group it is a bit of a new experience – the boys are used to playing European football for the most part, in different competitions, and we’ll take that forward. And we’ve got a squad that’s strong enough to compete.”

City having two more days’ rest than United

The following question referred to Sunday’s Manchester derby: “Just on the schedule, you’ve obviously been given a Thursday game and then you’ve got a derby on Sunday. City play Tuesday and they’ve got a couple of days extra rest. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about it, but are you concerned about that at all, annoyed at how the fixtures have fallen a little bit?”

“I’m not concerned,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s ideal in some ways, but it’s not something that we’ve given too much thought about. We’re not in control of that. We’ve got to deal with the cards that we’re dealt and that’s what it is. So we’ll make the most of them.”

The next question was a biting one.

“The club has got some lofty ambitions both on the pitch, obviously targeting the title by 2028, and off the pitch with these ambitious plans for a new stadium. Both of those things are costly. How important is it then that this week marks the start of a permanent or as close to a permanent return to the Champions League as you’ve got? Because the two things don’t look attainable if you’re going to be in and out of the Champions League all the time'”

The Wallsend man replied: “That’s the ultimate challenge. We’ve done an awful lot of good work to be here in a short space of time, and credit to the players for that. And it’s where we want to be. We want to keep pushing and the expectation is great. We want the expectation, we want the hope and the belief that we can achieve things quickly, and that’s a privileged position to be in, to have that hope upon us.”

“So winning games is always the answer to anything, and the more games we can win, certainly in this competition, then the better chance we’ll go further. The more games we win in the league in terms of giving us a chance of qualifying for this again as we win it. So it does come down to win the football matches in the end. We’re definitely capable of that.”

Another similar question followed: “It’s going to be just over 1,000 days since Old Trafford last hosted a men’s Champions League match. Just how important is the competition to United? How important do you see it?”

Carrick replied: “Yeah, it’s a magical competition. You know, it’s where we all want to be. When you’re out of it, you realise how special it is. And when you’re in it, you want to make the most of it. We’ve all seen some special, special nights and seen and felt some special things in this competition over the years. It’s where we want to be, it’s what we want to get back to, and it’s the best competition to challenge yourself and to push against the best. And we’re delighted to be here, but we’re not here to just enjoy the occasion. We’re here to do business and go as far as we possibly can.2

Matthijs de Ligt’s return

“Can I ask you as well about Matthijs de Ligt?” the reporter asked. “It’s been a long journey back. When do you expect him to be available for the team?”

“We’ll have to see. It’s positive. Matthijs trained really well and we’re still managing it, I think when you’re out for such a long period of time and you get to the final stages and you’re pushing, you’ve got to manage that last stage. It’s important. So you’ve got to get that balance right for when to take the next step. But he’s on good track. He’s in a good place. It’s great to have him back around us and hopefully it’ll be sometime soon.”

When will Sesko start?

The Mail’s chris Wheeler then asked “Benjamin Sesko off the bench again on Sunday, got a goal for you. How is he doing for you at the moment and is he close? Do you think he’ll get a start over these next two games?”

Carrick responded: “Yeah, Ben’s close. He’s obviously getting closer and closer. He missed a lot, you know, end of April really, Liverpool, the last games, a lot of time for him to miss. We’ve got to manage him, look after him, get him fit and probably train three and a bit weeks fully, kind of non-restriction, and I think you can see that coming onto the pitch and getting his rhythm, and it was a fantastic goal.”

“Well, he did an awful lot for us last season. It was nice to see him get on the end of that cross. And so he’s in a good place, Ben. Yeah, he’d be part of obviously each and every game and just a case of when he takes that next step, but he’s in a good place.”

Mbeumo’s preferred role

Mbeumo was then asked “Bryan, during the summer you played through the middle quite a bit. This season so far you’ve been playing wide right, you scored two goals in the past two games. Where do you think you’re most dangerous playing for the team? I’ve heard you prefer to play on the left, you told me.”

Mbeumo replied: “No, obviously I’ve been used to, to play a few positions in the attack. Back even in my first season, professional, back in the Desimtra, I was playing right, left, central. So obviously, I’ve got some preferences, I would say key positions on the field, but I can have them rather when I play centrally or wide. So it doesn’t really matter as long as I can play and perform for the team, I’m happy.”

The final question was to Carrick: “When you look back and everything you achieved, was winning the Champions League the ultimate for you, and how much did the competition mean in your career?”

The manager answered: “Yeah, it’s a one-off feeling, an instant kind of emotion. Yeah, definitely winning the Champions League is the best feeling I’ve been lucky enough to have as a footballer. So I think on top of that, probably over time, I think the longevity in playing over a period of time gives you a lot of satisfaction as a footballer to have a career. But to win the Champions League for me was the ultimate, and it was the best feeling I’ve had. And it’d be nice someday to feel that again.”